“If all mankind minus one were of one opinion,and only one person were of the contrary opinion,Mankind would be no more justifiedIn silencing that one person,Than he, if he had the power,Would be justified in silencing mankind.”-- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) The world is filled with self-evident truths -- truisms -- that philosophers, lawyers and judges know need not be proven. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Two plus two equals four. A cup of hot coffee sitting on a table in...

In his famous dissent in Olmstead v. United States, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in 1928 called the right to be left alone the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men. He was referring to the right to be left alone from the government -- a right that today we call privacy. Olmstead was involved in bootlegging, and the feds tapped his phones without any search warrants. The Supreme Court, which had never recognized the right to privacy, permitted the use...